by Dwane | Feb 27, 2015 | Ebook, Education, English, Greek, Visual Latin, Vocabulary
Metaphor: a short similitude; a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object. For example: The soldier was a lion in combat. From Greek μεταφερω (to transfer), which further derives from μετα (over) and φερω (carry). Mixed metaphors are fun. ...
by Dwane | Feb 27, 2015 | Ebook, Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Abate: To decrease, or become less in strength or violence; as pain abates; a storm abates. Once upon a time, this word meant, ”to put an end to, or to destroy” Over time, abate came to represent something diminishing in power, or diminishing in strength. Abate passed...
by Dwane | Feb 26, 2015 | Education, English, Greek, Vocabulary
Acrophobia: fear of heights. There is nothing to fear, but fear itself. And heights. And public speaking. And spiders… especially spiders. Acrophobia comes from Greek ἄκρον (height, summit, peak), and and φοβία (fear).
by Dwane | Feb 26, 2015 | Ebook, English, Latin, Vocabulary
When Latin went out of business, many Latin prepositions got jobs as prefixes in English. For instance, the Latin preposition “ad” meaning, “to, toward” became the English prefixes ac-, ad-, af-, ag-, al-, an-, ap-, ar-, as-, at-. This process...
by Dwane | Feb 25, 2015 | English, Greek, Vocabulary
Agony – extreme physical or mental suffering. Or… A one armed man, with an itch, hanging from a cliff. Or… a waiting room with one tv looping old episodes of the Knight Rider. Or… Learning Latin from most textbooks. From Greek ἀγωνία...
by Dwane | Feb 25, 2015 | English, Latin, Vocabulary
Adult: a person who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing in the middle. From Latin adultus (mature, ripe, fully grown).
